Changeling

A changeling is a creature found in folklore and folk religion. A changeling child was believed to be a fairy child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies. The theme of the swapped child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities.

Description

It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who was taken. The apparent changeling could also be a stock or fetch, an enchanted piece of wood that would soon appear to grow sick and die. The theme of the swapped child is common among medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities.

A human child might be taken due to many factors: to act as a servant, the love of a human child, or malice. Most often it was thought that fairies exchanged the children. In rare cases, the very elderly of the Fairy people would be exchanged in the place of a human baby, and then the old fairy could live in comfort, being coddled by its human parents. Simple charms, such as an inverted coat or open iron scissors left where the child sleeps, were thought to ward them off; other measures included a constant watch over the child.

Changeling (film)

Changeling is a 2008 American crime drama film, written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood, that explores child endangerment, female disempowerment, political corruption, mistreatment of mental health patients, and the repercussions of violence. Based partly on real-life events – the 1928 "Wineville Chicken Coop" kidnapping and murder case in Los Angeles, California – the film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman supposedly reunited with a boy she immediately realizes is not her missing son. When, however, she tries to demonstrate this to the police and city authorities, she is vilified as delusional and an unfit mother.

Straczynski spent a year researching the story after hearing about the Wineville Chicken Coop case from a contact at Los Angeles City Hall. Almost all of the film's script was drawn from thousands of pages of documentation. His first draft became the shooting script and his first film screenplay to be produced. Ron Howard had meant to direct the film, but scheduling conflicts led to his replacement by Eastwood. Instead, Howard and his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer produced Changeling alongside Malpaso Productions' Robert Lorenz and Eastwood. Universal Pictures financed and distributed the film.

Doppelganger (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Doppelgangers are monstrous humanoids, identified primarily by their ability to change their shape and appearance to mimic almost any humanoid creature. They can be used in the game by Dungeon Masters as allies or opponents of the player characters.

Publication history

The doppelganger was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The doppelganger was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk (1975). It is described as a creature with a mutable form, able to shape itself into a double of any person it observes.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The doppelganger appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a bipedal creature able to shape itself into the likeness of any humanoid creature it can observe.

The doppelganger was detailed in Dragon #80 (December 1983), in the "Psychology of the Doppelganger".